


The Gravedigger

by fairytaleofdust



Category: Bones (TV), The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: Angst, Crossover, F/M, Kidnapping, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-05-18 04:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5898637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytaleofdust/pseuds/fairytaleofdust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Forget Heather Taffett. The real gravedigger is still at large, and it's on Red's blacklist. The task force get together with Booth, Brennan and the Jeffersonian squinterns to find the real threat. But they may not have much time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love the gravedigger story, it was one of the most interesting in Bones. It really looks like something we would see in Red's blacklist. So I decided to put it together.   
> I'm not an expert in all the science they do in Bones, so bare with me as I may say something weird, it's for the plot, ok?  
> Thanks for the comments!

It was gruesome. It was brutal. Liz knew she had countless stories to tell that would be considered just the same by anyone. But this, this is something she never thought she would see.  
The victim had been found inside a box, buried on the back lot of an abandoned construction. It was a large enough box to allow him to stay sitting, but not much more movement, specially because he was tied to the wrists and ankles. In his hand, there was a digital watch, and in front of him a note telling the time he had been locked inside. Under it, in capital letters, there was the message: "WILL THEY GET HERE IN TIME?" She thought of how cruel it was to have this message there. It seemed that it wasn't enough burying a person alive, whoever did this liked to play with the person's mind.  
The corpse had a scared expression on his face. It would scar her memory forever. She knew exactly what that person had gone through. The desperation of being without air, breathing in and nothing happening, suffocation was a hard way to go. She had been through that when the Director tried to kill her with nitrogen inside Red's box. But she had Aram to save her. This person, he never saw it coming. He never had a chance.  
"The gravedigger kidnaps a person from random locations like parking garages, stunning them with tasers, and then buries them alive in containers which provide 24 hours of oxygen," she heard FBI special agent Seeley Booth, who had investigated the case before, explaining the case to the task force. "Then, someone would be informed and a ransom demanded. He would only call once, and never again. Once the ransom is paid, the location is revealed. Most victims were saved, but sometimes it was too late. Mostly because she made a mistake."  
Everyone was paying attention to the screen with the image of the man, sitting at his desk at the FBI headquarters. "The thing is, we caught the gravedigger, director Cooper. Heather Taffett was convicted, and then later killed. This must be a coincidence."  
"There is no coincidence here, agent Booth. We have a very reliable source that claims that Heather Taffett was a decoy, and the real gravedigger is still out there."  
"Who's this source, may I ask?" Booth was eyeing the team he could barely see from his computer. He suspected something awry in this weird secret team that suddenly came asking for information on a case that he thought was buried, pardon the pun.  
"Sorry. Confidential" said Donald Ressler, and Booth snorted. That kid was trying to look important with their secret sources, he thought. He was indeed getting too old for this, as Aubrey says.  
"Well, your confidential source is probably messing with you. Anyway, I'm available for any help I can provide, and so is my team at the Jeffersonian."  
"We appreciate it, agent Booth" Cooper thanked the man as he turned off the call, and immediately turned to his team.  
"Keen, go to Reddington. See what else he can say about this gravedigger, tell him what agent Booth said. Navabi, go to the ME to see if you find anything about the body. Ressler, go to the FBI headquarters and get Agent Booth's notes. See what else he can inform us about this case."  
Each person moved according to their orders, while Aram observed and continued to go through the files collected when agent Booth and his team investigated the case.  
"Uh... sir? One thing is interesting in this case," he added, and everyone stopped to pay attention. "The Gravedigger kidnapped the people involved in the case twice because they were too delved into it. It says here that Dr. Temperance Brennan, from the Jeffersonian, was kidnapped when they first investigated the case, together with Dr. Jack Hodgins, they were buried in their car. Then, Agent Booth himself was a victim, abducted and locked in a ship which was about to be sunk. Not to mention Thomas Vega, journalist expert in the case, who was intentionally killed with a taser to the heart. All I'm saying is, if this gravedigger has anything to do with Heather Taffett, we must be careful"  
Everyone looked at each other worried. It was indeed a very serious case. Liz remembered what she saw when they found the body. She was concerned specially for Ressler and Samar, who would be out in the field, investigating the case.  
"I'll talk to agent Booth, see if he can tell us anything about when they were the victims." said Ressler, looking directly at Liz. The thought of the possibility of her being buried alive, being 5 months pregnant, was gut-wrenching. If he could, he would keep her out of this case. But it was Cooper's decision. Besides, she would never accept it. She was already upset that she was just an asset.  
"See if you can talk to Dr. Brennan and Hodgins. They were victims, if we can analyse their experience to what was discovered in this new body, we can once and for all associate, or not, the cases."  
Ressler nodded, and moved to the elevator, followed by Samar and Liz. She noticed the cold atmosphere that had been hovering above them for sometime now.  
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x  
"I don't think there's anything else I can give you, agent Ressler, really," Booth sat on his desk and pressed two fingers on his eyes, tired. He didn't know what else he could give these people.  
"What about when you were a victim? Or Dr. Brennan and Dr. Hodgins? I was wondering if you could call them here, so I could ask some questions."  
Booth immediately knew this was a bad idea. It's been a long time since Bones and Hodgins were victims of the gravedigger, but he knew it was still a bitter topic for Hodgins. The look on the young agent's face, though, told him that he wasn't about to give up.  
"Alright. I'll call them. you can use our interrogation room, it's that way," he pointed, and Ressler moved to go out of his room. Just before he crossed the door, Booth stopped him.  
"How was the body you found, Ressler?" The agent returned and took a deep breath before he started to explain.  
"Horrible. I mean, all corpses are horrible, but this... You could see on the victim's face the suffering he went through. There were markings on the box, which means he tried to escape. I mean, I can imagine how it would be, suffocate to death." He thought of Liz inside the box, being poisoned with nitrogen, and he wasn't there. Strangely enough, Booth thought of Bones, buried alive in her car. It still gives him goosebumps to think that he could've been too late.  
"Please, be kind to Hodgins. He never took it too well what happened to him."  
Ressler nodded and then turned to go to interrogation room.  
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x  
"Ah, yes, Heather Taffett. Remarkable character, horrible demise. I remember seeing her case on TV. An attorney found guilty of such heinous crime, it was a big surprise when they announced that she had been convicted. Much bigger surprise was when she appealed, which funnily enough caused her death. If only she had known that to leave prison that day would result in having her brains all over the street, I bet she would have made a different decision."  
Red was digressing, Liz knew, and she rolled her eyes at the man. "Okay, whatever, you say that she wasn't the real gravedigger. What is it about? They had evidence!"  
"I never said she wasn't the gravedigger, Lizzy. I said that she wasn't the main one. Heather was a very dedicated student of a much more experienced mentor, who had been using his methods as a way of service for criminals who needed to eliminate problems. You see, our gravedigger is involved in a much deeper motivation than ransom. His victims are meticulously chosen in a process that depends on many other aspects, besides whether you can pay his absurdly expensive fee. I must say I considered his services a couple of times, but it was much easier using Mr. Kaplan's methods. Which means, his victims involve important people erasing important people, Lizzy. I bet agent Navabi has found interesting things about the identity of the body you found."  
Liz took a deep breath, and then sat straight, leaning her body forward, trying to make sense of all the information Red had given her.  
"So Heather Taffet was in connection with this gravedigger? Is that what you're saying? That we might have some idea of who he is by investigating her life?"  
"Heather decided to pursue her own career after the gravedigger denied her ideas of doing it for the money. Specially because she always had the intention of freeing the victim after the ransom was payed"  
"Yeah, agent Booth mentioned that the victims had died because of mistakes that she made."  
"Indeed. This gravedigger, though, he never has any intention of releasing the person. Truth is that more than one time someone wanted to use his methods to scare a person, and ended up disappointed when he wouldn't give out the location. He likes the thrill of the chase, likes to observe as people, loved ones or whoever might care, go after clues to find the victim. Few people were actually saved, and I must presume that he wasn't very happy when they were."  
Liz stood up and was about to go when Red stopped her.  
"How's the baby, Lizzy?" he asked, and she sighed. They hadn't been in the best of terms, again, since he decided she needed a whole team of surveillance in her apartment.  
"She's fine. Everything is okay" she tried to keep it to a minimum, but made a mistake by mentioning that it was a girl.  
"Oh, so you know already that it's a girl. That's incredible, Lizzy. It seems that your deep desire is becoming a reality, doesn't it?" He remembered what she had told him after they contacted the Djinn. It wasn't exactly this that she wanted. She was still dead set on giving the baby away for adoption, even though more and more that decision hurt her. She haven't heard of Tom for a long time, ever since she learned all the truth about Gina Zanetakos, and she was happy about that. She didn't miss him. What she did miss, though, was the perfect setting that she once seemed to have, and now it was gone.  
"Not exactly. I don't have a husband, and this baby is going away to have a better life. It's not the time to have that yet." Red felt sorry for her, and if he could he would hug her, but he knew he wouldn't be welcomed.  
"Lizzy, don't make hasty decisions. You don't have to give it away. We can take care of her."  
"And submit my daughter to your crazy surveillance plans and crimes and death? No, Red. This is not going to happen." She didn't say anything else, just turned around and went away. Red didn't try to stop her either. He knew the time for them to have peace was still to come.  
x-x-x-x-x-x-x  
"I can't believe this. Are you serious?" Jack Hodgins paced from one side of the room to the other, full of incredulity to what agent Ressler had just told them. "Who told you that?"  
"Our sources are confidential, Dr. Hodgins" Ressler answered, sympathizing with the man's anger. He would be pissed also if something he thought was dead suddenly resurfaced. "But I can affirm that there is another gravedigger, most likely Taffet's superior and mentor. Their objectives are different, though, so all we need to know is more details on the MO."  
He was trying not to face Dr. Brennan, who was quietly observing him on the seat across the table. She was surely as intimidating as Reddington.  
"All we have to say is in the files, agent Ressler" she finally spoke, and he noticed her strong and confident voice, the signs of a successful and very objective woman. Luckily, she wouldn't have the smug and sarcasm he was unfortunately used to. "I don't see why we had to be interrupted to come here to tell you something you could've read in the file." Ok, really objective. Ressler felt a bit stupid.  
"I'm sorry, Dr. Brennan, but we have to analyse every angle here. This man is dangerous, much more dangerous than Heather Taffet was. I beg of you, just some little consideration, anything that can help us catch this guy" She saw he was determined, and most likely scared, as she knew that, the same was she had been a victims for digging too deep into the case, so could he, or someone he cared about.  
"We were tased inside the parking lot of the Jeffersonian, and lost conscience. When we woke up, we were already inside the car."  
"Was there any note, sign or anything to tell you what had happened?"  
"No. We knew because we were investigating it, but no, there wasn't anything there to give us information of what was occurring, no sign of hope."  
Ressler thought of the sign inside the victim's coffin. This man was seriously more damaged than Taffet. He would give the victim the time left so they could have hope, and then have it slowly taken away by the passage of time. "This is different. This time there was a note, indicating the time the victim had left"  
Both Brennan and Hodgins seemed surprised with the information. Whoever this was, it was indeed much worse than Taffett.  
"It's hard to imagine being any worse than we lived," said Dr. Hodgins, still fighting against the memories. "But we lived through it. This man, those children we found, they didn't have the same chance. Do the world a favor, agent Ressler, and catch this guy, before he acts again."  
Ressler nodded. Brennan had a confused look on her face. "Shouldn't this case come to us, due to our experience with it?"  
Ressler explained, "We're part of a task force with an specific objective, and this case falls into our mission. I'm sorry, but this case is ours." He didn't mean to sound impolite. He thought it would be good to have the help of these scientists. They had a great number of solved cases, but he didn't think it would be authorized by Cooper.  
"Well, if you need us, feel free to send the case to the Jeffersonian," Brennan stood up, shook Ressler's hand and left, followed by Hodgins.  
Ressler took his time inside the room, and when he left he looked at agent's Booth's room to see him and Dr. Brennan together, happily talking. The man stood up and gave her a kiss, and that made Ressler sigh. He knew briefly about their partnership turned into marriage, and wondered how they made it work. He seemed to be incapable of keeping a plant alive, let alone a relationship in his line of work.  
He walked towards his SUV in his regular pace, fiddling with his phone to send a message to Cooper, stating that he was returning to the post office. He accidentally dropped his keys, and as he bent over to catch them under the car, he felt the jolt of electricity going through his veins, paralyzing his legs, accelerating his heart to the point that he lost balance, knocked his head on the car and lost consciousness.  
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x  
Everyone was back in the post office, but Ressler. Cooper was beginning to suspect something was wrong when they called Booth, and he stated that Ressler had left his office 3 hours ago. Liz was trying his phone, but there was no answer. Suddenly, Aram's phone rang. He picked up, and seconds later connected it to the speakers so everyone would hear.  
"Donald Ressler has been buried alive" a metallic voice was saying "There is no escape, unless you find him. It's a race against time, you have 24 hours. This is my final contact"  
The silence indicated that the call was over, so Aram hung up the phone. The whole room remained in silence, everybody too stunned to continue. The silence was only broken by Liz's sobbing.  
Harold Cooper immediately started to give out orders. "Aram, recover the call, see if you can find out anything about it. Agent Navabi, contact agent Booth, tell him that we'll need his and his team's support."  
He approached Liz, who was crying quietly, and touched her arms lightly. "Liz. Contact Red. Tell him what's going on." she didn't look up, and he could feel she was shaking. They all worried about her and the baby, so Samar brought her a chair. "Elizabeth, listen to me. We're going to find him, but we need everyone on point here. Are you sure you want to be part of this? You can go home if you want."  
"No!" she whispered, under her breath. Raising her head and wiping her face, she looked at him determined. "I'll contact Red, see what else we can find." Her eyes met her boss', and they both agreed silently to be afraid. They were all afraid. They had only 24 hours, and the clock was ticking.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wow! look at this, Bones! Isn't it cool?" Booth elbowed his wife lightly as they both came out of the yellow elevator in the post office. They were immediately welcomed by Cooper.  
"Agent Booth. Dr. Brennan. Thank you for coming. We weren't going to ask for your help, but it became paramount."  
Brennan was observing the entire facility, taking in all the information she could get. She saw that they had put a clock counting down on their screens, just like they did when Booth was abducted.  
"As we told you, agent Cooper, our case was different, but we're here to help," said Booth, looking at the clock that was now marking 23:30 and counting.  
"I understand, but your expertise on hunting down clues is more valuable for us now than your information on Taffet's case. I believe when both of you were abducted, it was your team's efforts that found you, am I correct?"  
"Yes, you are correct. I'd like to see the body that was found earlier, if I may" Dr. Brennan asked, and Cooper signaled for an agent to accompany her to the ME's office. That's when Liz and Raymond Reddington walked into the room from the elevator.  
Booth's mouth dropped and he couldn't help but laugh at the scene. "Raymond Reddington? So this is your confidential informant?"  
"Dr. Brennan, what a pleasure" Reddington opened a smile and put his hand out to greet the woman. "I'm a big fan of your literature, so gripping and interesting, with such informative facts on forensic anthropology! Certainly a remarkable collection of fiction." He shook her hand enthusiastically, although the woman didn't show that much interest on him.  
"Certainly. I take this facts very seriously. I appreciate that you find them interesting. Most of my readers seem to be more interested in Dr. Reichs' romance with Agent Andy Lister."  
"Well," Red gave her a nod with the head, "We can't expect much of the common public, can we?" The woman raised her eyebrows, but then turned directly to Cooper.  
"The body, agent Cooper?" To what Cooper indicated an agent who was going to take her to the morgue.  
"What have we got, Harold?" Booth was still mesmerized by Reddington being there as an informant. He, as every other agent in the FBI, knew of Reddington's reputation, and could never guess that he would be an informant.  
"Nothing much. We asked for the help of agent Booth and Doctor Brennan, who dealt with Heather Taffet's case and were themselves victims."  
"This is a different case, Harold. This man will not ask for ransom. There is an specific reason why Donald was abducted. Someone hired his services, someone with power." They all looked at each other, which provoked Booth's curiosity.  
"What?" he asked, but no one answered.  
"Sorry, agent Booth, but this is confidential." Booth sighed, feeling that he would still hear a lot of this while he remained in this black site. "Reddington, Liz, Samar, please, my office. Agent Booth, you can work with agent Mojtabai and inform what your team is doing, please."  
Booth approached Aram as the rest of the group moved upstairs to the director's office. "Well, my team of squints went to the place where he was abducted to see if they find any clues. I'd recommend you send the recording of the message to Angela Montenegro, she works with the technical stuff at the Jeffersonian, she may be able to help." Aram nodded, and they both focused on the computer.  
x-x-x-x-x-x-x  
"So you think this may involve the Cabal?" Harold asked as soon as everyone was inside the room. Reddington placed his fedora on the man's desk and sat down before saying anything.  
"I guess it is a possibility, Harold, that we cannot deny. Specially Lauren Hitchin, I bet she's still bitter Donald found out her mischievous plan to eliminate Reven Wright. She knows he isn't done with her, why not be done with him?"  
"How can we prove it, though?" Samar pointed out, and Liz rolled her eyes. Whoever it was that ordered it, they were wasting time in this discussion.  
"This is pointless. We should be out there looking for clues! Agent Booth's team is checking the crime scene, we should be there with them, find something that will lead us to Ressler!"  
"Calm down, Lizzy" Red halted with his hand, and then signaled her to sit down. " You're right, The gravedigger does leave traces so we can go after, as I said he enjoys the hunt. I'm sure agent Booth's team will find out something in the crime scene that will lead us to something else. This is like an scavenger hunt, but if we find who ordered the service, we can cut directly to the X marking the spot."  
"HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE?" Liz stood up and screamed, tired of Red's calm. "We're wasting time here with your assumptions and your smug face, taking us to a path that may not be the right one! We can't..." that's when she's interrupted by her phone ringing. When she pulls it out of her pocket, she can't believe what she sees on the screen. She immediately swipes it and answers.  
"Ressler?" she speaks on the phone, and everyone turn their attention to her. "Ressler, are you there?"  
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x  
Ressler woke up with a big headache. He touched his forehead and found the there was a cut there, which had bled, but it wasn't anymore, which meant it wasn't so deep. He opened his eyes slowly and felt no difference. He couldn't see much. His hands were free, though, so he started patting around him to try and find out where he was.  
A few taps to his left and he touched something. It was a flashlight. He picked it up and flicked the switch, and the light hurt his eyes a little. After he got used to the light, he realized that he was in trouble.  
He was in a box, big enough for him to sit, but small enough for him to put two and two together and know that he didn't have much time inside if he wanted to survive. he sat down with difficulty, his body still a bit shaken up from the taser. Across from him, he saw a note. "Will they get here on time?" And he knew what had happened to him.  
He saw that he had a chronometer on his wrist, already counting down. there was 23:15 left. Using his flashlight, he began to analyze the box where he was. It was an iron box, and it smelt funny. He couldn't but his finger on it, but it seemed as if that box once had contained something different. He tried the lid, but nothing happened. It was shut. He just hoped he wasn't under the ground.  
He adjusted his position and felt something inside his pocket. When he reached for it, he saw that it was his phone. "Was this intentionally left here for me, or did they make a mistake?" he thought, as he clicked it on and saw that there was still 70% battery left, and signal. He felt relieved, as it probably meant that he wasn't underground.  
There was only one person he wanted to speak to right now, and though protocol indicated that he should call his superior, he immediately typed her number.  
"Ressler? Ressler, are you there?"  
The call was distant, and there was interference. Wherever he was, it was somewhere without much technology. He just worried that this might mean it would be difficult for them to trace the call.  
"Liz. it's me."  
"Oh my God, Ressler, where are you? are you okay?" She felt her heart inside her throat as she moved to the war room to warn Aram that he was calling.  
"I don't know... where I am. I am in a box, I can really say, it's really dark here."  
"But you have your phone?"  
"Yeah. Odd, isn't it?"  
Aram began to trace the call, but it was getting interference. He thought it was strange until it all came to him.  
"They probably rerouted the signal. It's hitting different signal towers all over the country. It's going to take much longer to trace it."  
"Ress, how much battery do you have left?" Liz asked, knowing that they would have to keep the call running if they wanted to trace it.  
"About 70%. Aram can't trace it?"  
"It's going to take longer than expected. We'll keep you on the line, okay?"  
"Agent Ressler, this is Agent Booth" Booth interfered, feeling as anxious as everybody in the room. That was mean, allow him to talk to his friends in what seemed a dead end situation. "I just want to say that I have my best people investigating, we're going to find you, okay?"  
"Thank you, agent Booth" Ressler's voice was weak and distant, and Liz was afraid they would miss the call.  
"Ress? Please, talk to us. Tell us what you see."  
"Uh..." He pointed the flashlight again to his surroundings, now seeing better as his head was pounding a little less. "It's a box, seems to be metal, it's cold. There is no light coming from anywhere, but I have a flashlight. There's a note and I have a chronometer. It was the gravedigger."  
"Seems likely, Donald." Red began to talk "Now, can you imagine who would pay an immense amount of money to eliminate you?"  
Ressler remained in silence for a while, pondering the possibilities before saying it out loud. "Hitchins" He affirmed what everyone was already thinking.  
"Laurel Hitchins, presidential representative?" Booth exclaimed, surprised. "What the hell is going on here?"  
"Let's just say that we know things that you don't want to know, agent Booth. For your own safety" Aram affirmed, a hand on Booth's shoulder. He took a deep breath before talking.  
"Ok, so, I have to assume that for some reason Laurel Hitchins has a secret agenda that I don't want to know about and had reasons to eliminate agent Ressler. I see."  
"Good boy, agent Booth," praised Red, and Booth rolled his eyes to the criminal. It was hard enough believing that he was working with the FBI, he didn't need to be mocked by him.  
"I'm going to check with Bones and the Jeffersonian, she what they have found," he said, and then left the war room, leaving only the task force to talk to Ressler.  
"Anything, Aram?" Cooper asked, his voice clearly revealing his anxiety.  
"No, it's too far away still. Agent Ressler, you'll have to remain in the line."  
"That's okay, Aram. I think it's better than being alone in the dark here" Ressler chuckled, trying to see a good point in his dreadful situation.  
"Uh... can I.... I think it would be good if he didn't listen to the whole investigation around us, can I take him from the speaker?" Liz suggested, and Aram nodded. She took her phone again and moved to their room.  
In the war room, they went back to their efforts to find clues. Inside their room it was only Liz and Ressler.  
x-x-x-x-x-x--x-x  
"Hey. How are you?" she whispered to the phone, as if she was talking to someone at the hospital.  
"I've been better," he joked, and she rolled her eyes.  
"I'm scared, Ress," she admitted, sitting on her desk and slowly caressing her belly.  
"Hey, Keen. I"ll be fine. I believe you guys will find me. You won't get rid of me that easy." She chuckled.  
"Those deaths, they were so horrifying. When I think that can happen to you..."  
"Hey! You removed me from the speaker because you didn't want to stress me with the investigation, and now you are there talking about how I'm going to die?" He protested, and she knew he was right.  
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, you're right. Let's talk about something else."  
"Yeah. Tell me about the baby. How is she?" Recently Ressler had taken interest in her baby, asking about exams, sonograms, he even went with her to an ultrasound appointment. Liz smiled fondly at his comment. Without Tom, she thought it would be too hard to go through this pregnancy, but Ressler was making it easier.  
"She's fine. She's been moving a lot, I think she's worried about you too." they both laughed.  
"Well, tell her I'll be right back. Have you considered my options for the name?" It was funny, she had to keep him calm, but it was him who was making an effort to distract her.  
"I'm not naming her, Ressler. I'm giving her away, remember?"  
"No, you're not, Liz. I know you. This is what you've always wanted. The moment you see her, you'll change your mind."  
"And then what? Be a single mother, an FBI agent and a central piece in Red's war? I don't think I can handle so many roles. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to her."  
"We can manage it." she felt her heart flutter as he said 'we'. He had been using the pronoun a lot lately, regarding her baby. Unlike Tom, he was using it to signal that he would be there to help her, no matter what. It was her baby, but he would do anything he could to make sure she had a good life.  
"Hey! I think Victoria is a good choice," she said, and he laughed.  
"Yeah, yeah. Victoria seems like a good option. Specially with all the meaning it carries."  
"Victory" she whispered. "She would conquer everything, indeed."  
They remained in silence for a minute, but it wasn't an awkward silence. They were enjoying each other's company as they usually do in their office, even if just through the phone.  
"Liz. Promise me one thing" he said, serious.  
"Sure. what?"  
"Promise me that you'll keep her. No matter what happens. I want you to have this baby, you deserve to be happy, after all you went through. This is your chance, please, promise me that you won't give it up."  
She took a deep breath, feeling the tears in her eyes as she listened to him. It seemed as if he was already giving up. It was a promise on his deathbed. Or so to speak.  
"Only if you're here to help me. That's the deal. You stay strong, we'll find you, and I'll keep her."  
He laughed, but his eyes were full of tears. He knew he wouldn't have much air left and soon would start feeling out of breath. He looked at the timer, it now marked 22:45. Time was slow, for now.  
"Promise me, Ressler, and I promise you." she insisted. He remained in silence for a few seconds before he agreed.  
"I promise."  
"I promise, too" she caressed her belly, thinking about the consequences of this promise. Deep inside, she wanted to keep her baby, but she knew there were too many cons going against her. With Ressler's help, though, she felt stronger, as if she could overcome the negative points and make it at least close to her dream. That only made her even more scared, as time was passing, and Ressler was still lost.


	3. Chapter 3

Samar only observed as Angela Montenegro fiddled with her controller, playing the call over and over again in different sound analyzers. Angela couldn't avoid peeking the woman with the corner of her eye. She was the kind of woman who can both intimidate and comfort.

"I'm sorry." she broke the silence, and Samar looked at her. "Is he your partner?"

She thought for a second before answering. "No, not really. I mean, technically, he is, but the truth is that he's Liz's partner. Always has been. It would be presumptuous of me to imagine I could interfere with that."

Angela smiled, trying to send some sympathy to the woman.

"The thing is that me and Ressler, we have some unfinished... business. We aren't in the best of terms and now that he could die..."

"You are scared he'll die without you clarifying it." Angela completed, and Samar smiled in agreement. She really was. She understood why Ressler said the things he said to her. She had been bitter about it, childish even, but she knew. He had every right to suspect her, she was still connected to Red's motives, anyway. And now, she was beginning to understand his, as well.

"Liz is Elizabeth Keen, right?" Angela asked. "I saw her case on the news. Was she really framed of everything?"

"It's much more complicated than you imagine. But yeah, it was a set up. Really bad people is after her."

"But why? What has she done?" Angela asked, but knew immediately by Samar's face that she wasn't at liberty to say. "Well, she seems nice to me. I hope everything works out," and then turned back to her gigantic screen.

"Any progress?" Samar asked, and Angela frowned.

"This is much more complex than what Heather Taffet used. I tried using the same process I used when I revealed her voice, but it's not budging. I think I'll have to dig a little deeper." she typed more things on her controller, as Hodgins came into the room.

"Agent Navabi? I have something to show you." They both excused Angela, and went to his room in the lab.

Samar follows Dr. Hodgins to his own lab, and while the man types into his computer, she tries not to pay attention to the numerous insects and animals around the place.

"We found a footprint at the crime scene, not much left of it, but enough for me to analyze some things."

A footprint? Samar isn't very convinced. "So what? you found out the brand of the kidnaper's shoe?" The sarcasm in her voice didn't go unnoticed. Hodgins takes a deep breath. He's used to people not valuing his side of the job.

"I could, if that was relevant. Thing is, it's not, as you probably have already noticed. What is relevant, nevertheless, is whatever the shoe brought with it." and with the pressing of a button, Hodgins revealed a list of elements that were present in the tracks of the shoe. "All these elements indicate only a few places around DC, most precisely these ones. Perhaps they took Agent Ressler to the same place they were before."

He hands a list of addresses to Samar, who immediately pulls out her phone to call for backup. As she moves to leave his office, she stops by the door and turns around to face the doctor.

"I'm sorry. I was rude. It's just..."

"I get it. Go. we don't have much time."

xx0x0x0x

The Jeffersonian forensic lab is a large, impressive location with many people and many resources for investigation. No wonder they have one of the top rates of solved crimes in the bureau. Liz looks around impressed as Dr. Camille Saroyan allows her and Cooper to walk up to the forensic platform, where Dr. Brennan is analyzing the body they found. Right behind them, a beautiful Asian woman walks in and types something in the computer, revealing a face. A well-known face.

"Senator David Rods, 54 years old, Caucasian. He's your victim," Dr. Brennan announces, while Angela positions herself next to her friend.

"Senator Rods, we had suspicions that he was involved with the Cabal. So this kill was really commissioned to the gravedigger".

"The Cabal?" Hodgins comes up on the platform, and seems more interested than ever. "I saw Presidential Representative Hitchins announcing that it was real. They were responsible for framing you, weren't they?" He turns his attention to Liz, who hides her face. She's not fully recovered from what happened yet. "So they are now killing senators? Why would someone order an expensive killer to eliminate Rods?"

"Because he was willing to talk," A voice came from behind, and everyone turned around to see Raymond Reddington, sided by Dembe, walking into the lab.

"Mr. Reddington? He's not authorized to come in here," Cam complains, turning to Agent Cooper. Harold can only buff.

"Don't worry, Dr. Saroyan, it isn't Harold's fault. My sources put me in here but I won't take long. I just needed to be informed on the identity of our victim. I presume the good Dr. Brennan has made some other discoveries on the body?"

Everyone turns around to face Brennan now, who only turns to her assistant, Wendell Bray, waiting for the information.

"Yes! right. Well, there are some punction marks on the bone right here on the neck, which indicates that the Senator was injected with something. This is strange, given that the gravedigger captures their victims by stunning them with a stunt gun."

"Does the Senator have marks of a stunt gun?" Asks Harold Cooper.

"Yes, clearly, right here on the back. The procedure matches the gravedigger's MO. But the puncture marks are an extra. I've already asked Dr. Hodgins to investigate." which gives Hodgins the cue to continue.

"Yes, and that's why I came in here. Senator Rods was injected with hemlock. It's a very powerful poison that causes many symptoms from headache to nausea and vomiting. The thing here, though, is that this isn't simply hemlock. It has been altered, to cause one only symptom."

"And what is that?" Liz asked, placing her hand on her belly, and the other touching her phone in her pocket. She wondered if Ressler had also been injected.

"Nervousness. It enhances the effect of panic."

"that's why they found marks on the box, of him trying to escape. He poisons the victim so they die of panic."

"How long does it take to have any effect?" Liz asks, worried. They all know what she means.

"About 4 hours after injection, the victim loses control. A few minutes are enough to start the effect."

To that, Liz rushes out of the platform, cellphone at hand. She calls Ressler's number, but he doesn't pick up. At this moment, Liz thought of the worse.

xxoxoxoxo

Liz was sitting on the lounge above the lab. For a forensic laboratory, the Jeffersonian was quite comfortable. She was trying not to think of the worst, but kept looking at her phone every second. They still haven't been able to make contact with Ressler.

Brennan approached slowly and offered her a cup of coffee. "It's decaf" she ensured her, and Liz thanked the woman. The hot liquid going down her throat was soothing.

"How far along are you?" Brennan asked.

"5 months. Give or take. I had a rough start, so it's hard to know for sure."

"And is agent Ressler the father?" Liz was surprised to hear that so bluntly. Deep inside, she wanted to say that it was. Much better than saying that the father was lying scumbag who had fooled her twice.

"No. Ressler and I, we're partners."

Brennan smirked. "Booth and I were partners. We had a forced partnership, at first. He needed me, I hated him. Look at us now."

Liz smiled. The woman may seem a bit hard on the outside, but she was very sweet and caring. She suspected that had much to do with agent Booth.

"You know, when Booth was abducted by the gravedigger, Heather Taffett, I got really scared. The idea of him dying was terrifying. All the time I thought that I had missed my chance".

"Your chance?" Liz asked, taking another sip of the coffee.

"To tell him. To give it a chance, to give myself a chance to be happy." Brennan chuckled as the memories came back to her.

"Did you tell him, when you saved him?"

"No. I didn't. He declared his love to me, he told me he wanted to give it a try. You see, we had this friend, a psychologist, Dr. Sweets, and he wrote a book about us. In his analysis, Sweets concluded that we should never work well together, but we did, because we were in love. When we heard Sweets story, Booth agreed. I didn't."

"And then?" Liz sat straight, glad that they were talking about it, it was a way for her to forget a little bit about what was going on.

"Well, I missed my chance. I guess I was too scared I would destroy what I had with him. We took a year apart; he went back to the army. When we came back, he had a girlfriend."

Liz thought about Ressler, and the women around him. She knew that him and Samar had had something, but wasn't so sure they were considering repeating that. She had also heard about a reporter who helped him when they brought Karakurt into the courthouse, and in return, she had asked him out. He never talked about it.

"What happened, then?"

"I missed my shot. When I finally realized what I wanted, he was about to ask her to marry him. It was all upside down. In the end, she didn't accept his proposal, and then I got another chance. A lot happened that brought us back together. The first time I was pregnant I was so nervous, but when I saw his smile as I told him, I knew I'd be alright."

"You have kids, then," Liz was very interested in the story, it felt as if she had to listen to it.

"Two, yeah. Christine, she's 5, and Hank. He's 1." There was a sparkle on Brennan's eyes, the kind that Liz has always wanted when talking about her kids. She caressed her belly and took a deep breath, remembering the promise she had made to Ressler.

"Ressler, he's not the father. But he promised to help. I'm still not sure if I want to bring a baby into my life, it's too complicated, with Reddington. Having Ressler by my side almost makes me think I could do it." She felt like crying again, looking at the clock. 15 hours left.

Brennan squeezed her shoulder lightly, trying to be comforting. "I'd say you give it a chance. Don't do anything you know you'll regret later. We're close, Elizabeth." The two women looked at each other. "We'll find him. Then, make sure you know what to tell him. Don't waste your time like I did." Brennan's reassuring eyes gave Liz a little bit more hope.

At that time, Liz's phone buzzed, and she saw it was Ressler.

"Ress? are you alright?"

"Liz? I just.... I just heard something. They are coming for me, Liz! They..." Oh, no. He was in panic, hallucinating. It only meant one thing.

"Ressler? pay attention, ok? We'll find you! We're close!"

"No! they are here! they said... They said..."

"No one is there, Ress. Focus. They have injected you with poison, this is the chemical talking. Pay attention, listen to me, you need to focus."

Ressler stopped and took a deep breath. He had had training for this, inconspicuous situations. Of course, not with hallucinogens running through his veins, but as long as his conscience could fight it, he would use his training to save himself. He clicked the flashlight on. It was dim, indicating that the batteries weren't new, and were starting to fail.

"I don't think I'm buried. I swear I heard something. I don't...."

"Use your instinct, Ress. Did you or did you not hear something outside?" At this very moment, Ressler heard a loud noise coming from outside, so loud that it was clear for him what it was, even inside the container.

"There's a crane here. I'm being moved," he felt himself being raised, whatever he was being held in swinging like a leaf on the wind. A few more minutes going up, and it stopped.

"Ress? What's happening?" The call was failing, there was a lot on interference. Ressler looked at his phone and saw the signal bars disappearing one by one.

"Liz? I'm losing signal. I'm too high, I think. But I know what I'm in. I think I can open it." Liz was barely hearing him, her heart pounding as his voice was getting farther and farther. "Liz? Liz?"

"I'm here." she said, but didn't know if he could hear her. Right before the call gets disconnected, all she is able to hear him say is "Liz, I..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wrote this a while ago and I had quite given up on this story. I hope it's still good. Make sure to leave your opinion. I'll work on it and soon will post more chapters. I'm calculating 1 or two more to finish it. Suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks!


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